Victories Archives - Carolina Therapy Connection

CTC Ranked in North Carolina’s ‘Best Employers 2023’

Posted on June 9, 2023October 4, 2023

Who ranks North Carolina’s Best Employers of 2023?

See Our Ranking Below Under ‘Medium Sized Employers’

See the FULL issue of Business North Carolina’s annual list of Best Employers HERE

What sets Carolina Therapy Connection apart from other Employers?

Carolina Therapy Connection is a therapist-owned, growing private pediatric outpatient practice with sensory clinic locations in Greenville, Goldsboro, and New Bern, North Carolina. For the past 12 years CTC has been providing OT, PT, ST, and educational services to children of all ages and diagnoses including: autism spectrum disorder, sensory processing disorder, cerebral palsy, feeding disorders, and developmental delay. Children are served within our newly expanded, state-of-the-art sensory clinics, within the community, and within school settings. In 2023 we added Mental Wellness and Counseling to the umbrella of services CTC offers.

Carolina Therapy Connection is the first outpatient therapy clinic Certified Autism Center™ (CAC) in Eastern North Carolina. Carolina Therapy Connection covers the cost of all staff to complete this professional certification within their first year of hire. Our culture at CTC is faith-based, built around serving others while creating a fun and exciting place to work that will motivate you!

Just a few reasons to join our team …

Competitive Compensation with weekly and monthly incentive bonuses (salary or pay per visit- based on yourpreference and goals!)
Flexible schedules perfect for therapists with families (all staff choose their own schedule- what works best for you?)
Fun, social clinic setting with company sponsored events every month (team building, potlucks, snack bars, ice cream socials, etc!)
Prizes that reward team members who carry out our core values and supportive culture (monthly core value cash prizes!)
Multi-disciplinary setting with supervision and mentorship programs to help you grow and based upon the support you need!
Supportive, faith-based culture that values teamwork as well as individual team member goals (meetings on a monthly and quarterly basis to check in on your personal and professional growth!)
Opportunity for growth within the company including management and leadership opportunities (clinical and administrative ladder programs)
Web-based, electronic documentation system (document anywhere that suits you!)
Simple IRA with retirement matching (no vesting period!)
Health, vision and dental group insurance through BCBSNC with Company contribution
Disability insurance
Life insurance and Employee Assistance Program (free mental health/wellness services) paid 100% by employer
PTO and all major holidays observed (let’s hear it for no weekends or holidays!)
Continuing education compensation and company sponsored CEU opportunities
We invest in every team member to receive credentialing as an Certified Autism Specialist or Autism Certificate through the IBCCES certification program
We credential all of our interested clinicians in becoming certified in the Interactive Metronome treatment modality
Private offices for speech language pathologists (and SLP assistants)
Clinical Fellowship program with close mentorship and training
Relocation assistance and sign on/retention bonuses for certain positions
Annual licensing fees and professional liability costs covered
Referral bonuses
Travel reimbursement
Computers and other technology options (iPads) for each employee
15,000 sq.ft. clinic with state of the art sensory spaces for enhanced therapy experiences
All treatment equipment and assessments provided by company
Amazing administrative staff that handle all scheduling, billing and insurance authorizations (YES… Let’s hear it for less time spent documenting!)
A variety of settings offered based on clinician preference (schools, homes, daycares, clinic)

Interested in joining our team? Head over to our Careers Page to apply NOW!

Does My Child’s Pencil Grasp Matter?

Posted on March 1, 2022October 4, 2023

Does the way children hold their pencil really matter?

If you have a pencil handy, pick it up and notice how you hold it. Which fingers does the pencil rest between how are you supporting it? How much pressure do you use when you write? Does it really make a difference in your handwriting? The answer is YES, it does matter! How you hold your pencil really does make a difference—and it will also impact your writing. Your pencil grasp is directly related to handwriting speed and legibility, as having a mature grasp is more efficient and less tiring on your hands (Schwellnus, et al., 2012). Having a mature grasp also directly correlates with fine motor skills and your ability to manipulate other things (i.e. tying your shoes, picking up small objects, flossing, zipping up your jacket, using a fork or spoon).

Handwriting is essential for academic success and a foundation for efficient writing lies in how the child holds their pencil and the order in which letters are formed. It is important to address these concerns as early as possible. After the age of 8, changing grasp and formation patterns is difficult, but not impossible.

What are the stages of pencil grasp development?

There are several stages of pencil grasp development needed to develop a functional grasp that can be used to write efficiently and legibly. Each stage is important and helps to develop different muscles in the hand. Children typically develop control over the larger muscles of the trunk and arms before developing the smaller muscles of the hands. This is why grasp changes over time. Not all children will use all of these grasps during their fine motor development. Some children will use more than one grasp at an age as their skills develop and change. However, they should develop a functional mature grasp similar to the tripod grasp listed below.

Palmer grasp/Fisted grasp: typically develops between 12-18 months.

Digital pronate grasp: typically develops at 2-3 years.

5 finger grasp: typically develops between 3-4 years

Four finger/quadrapod grasp: typically develops at 3.5-4 years

Tripod grasp: typically develops at 5-6 years

What is letter formation?

Handwriting is a complex process that involves many skills and body functions to work in a precise manner. Letter formation refers to the order in which each line segment is produced to make a single letter. Children should learn to form letters from top to bottom and from left to right. The order in which letters are formed either aids or interferes with efficient, legible writing.

Why is proper letter formation important?

Children who have poor letter formation usually do not enjoy handwriting and/or the process takes longer than they would like.
Proper letter formation increases handwriting legibility, speed and accuracy.
Without the proper order of formation, letters are being ‘drawn’ more than formed and handwriting suffers.
Teaching proper letter formation can help to limit letter reversals such as b and d.
Practicing proper letter formation teaches higher cognitive skills ( i.e. working memory, sequencing, self-monitoring).

It’s important to note that every child’s handwriting style and process of learning is different and THAT IS OKAY! Our occupational therapists use a child-centered approach to help your kiddo become confident in their abilities while making handwriting FUN! If you are concerned about how your child forms letters or holds their pencil, an occupational therapist should evaluate your child. The therapist will determine if there are any skill or strength deficits and formulate a plan that is individualized for your child’s unique needs.

Written by: Amanda Easter, MS, OTR/L, CAS

References

Schwellnus, H., Carnahan, H., Kushki, A., Polatajko, H., Missiuna, C., & Chau, T. (2012). Effect of pencil grasp on the speed and legibility of handwriting in children. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 66: 718–726.

Optimizing Therapy Progress

Posted on February 1, 2022October 4, 2023

Competence Brings Confidence

When we begin treatment with a new patient, or we begin working on a new skill at home as a parent, we often become so excited about the goal, or the end game, that we forget about all the small steps we should take to get there. Over the past 20 years working with children and families as an SLP and raising my own children I have learned that we need to celebrate the small steps in life and for therapy progress.

At some point I started telling parents of preschoolers and early elementary students, “Competence brings confidence!”

Your child might learn a very small step toward their goal in a therapy session. This small step should bring a lot of excitement, praise, and chances to “show it off” at home. These chances are growing your child’s confidence in their abilities. Those chances are giving neural connections a chance to form. Those chances are reinforcing new motor patterns. Being competent in a new skill, no matter how small, brings confidence! Confidence gives us the drive and the will to keep working hard and keep going. It keeps us excited in our pursuit to learn something new or difficult and optimizes therapy progress.

Focus on the Small Steps for Big Victories

Often parents and practitioners focus too much on the end goal. Young children do not even know what the end goal is. We need to celebrate each very small step along the way.

With the confidence your child has from practicing a seemingly small skill at home, they come to therapy ready to move on and add more new skills. They will have the skill they have become so good at in their tool belt, and add to it! They might have started making a speech sound with confidence in isolation. When they are confident with that skill because they have shown it off many times, they will be ready to move on to making that sound in words.

In the opposite scenario we might spend time working on the small skills, try to speed along, and forget to give praise and practice at each step. We are focused on the end goal, for example, clear speech. All along your child or patient might practice and never realize all the small gains because we forget to praise them with small steps or have them show off their small steps. In this scenario, opportunities to practice important building blocks are missed. Opportunities to build confidence are missed, and ultimately the pace of progress is slower.

In the end, learning the “end goal” should have felt like many moments of satisfaction and praise to finally reach where we wanted the child to be. It should not feel like many moments of trying and not {quite} getting there and being corrected over and over until we {finally} get good enough.

Incidentally, this works for grown ups too! If you are trying to learn something new, give yourself some grace. Focus on a small step you have mastered and practice it or show it off many times, and then move on. In the long run, you will be smarter and stronger for building competence in the small steps all along, and you will be more confident with your goal when you get there!

Optimizing Therapy Progress at Carolina Therapy Connection

The key to success is realizing that our large or end goals aren’t going to happen overnight, in the next week or maybe even the next year, but this is okay. We tend to take the present moment for granted – it seems insignificant, and we believe the little things we do in the moment are not changing us. At Carolina Therapy Connection, we believe in a culture that embraces the small victories for your family! Each time your child has milestone achievement, we will find a way to celebrate. We believe it is critical to make therapy as fun and motivating as possible by celebrating the small victories as well as major achievements. After all, when children enjoy what they are doing, who they are with and the environment they are in, anything is possible! If your family has concerns regarding your child’s development or goals you would like to achieve, call us at 252-341-9944. We would love to help you and make you a part of our CTC family and culture.

Written by: Susan Hill, MS, CCC-SLP